A room full of grey suits, strict instructions only to photograph the audience from behind and — of course — a medley of James Bond tunes to lighten the mood.
Germany's intelligence agencies on Tuesday inaugurated a joint training center in the heart of Berlin, a city that was dubbed the 'capital of spies' during the Cold War and that to this day remains a hotspot of espionage.
The heads of the foreign and domestic spy agencies officially opened the Center for Intelligence Service Training close to where the Berlin Wall once sliced the city in two, fulfilling German lawmakers' demands that they cut costs by merging their long-separate training facilities.
Bruno Kahl, right, head of the German Federal Intelligence Service, and Thomas Haldenwang, left, head of the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, attend the opening of a center for advanced education at the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. Germany's intelligence agencies are inaugurating a joint spy school in the heart of Berlin, a city that was dubbed the 'capital of spies' during the Cold War and remains a hotspot of espionage.(AP PhotoMichael Sohn)
Closer cooperation would benefit both agencies, said Hans-Georg Engelke, a senior German security official, citing an incident several years back when a visiting delegation from one organization was denied entry to another.
In a separate case, officials at the BfV domestic intelligence agency at one point were surprised to learn that their American counterparts had provided long-sought information to the foreign intelligence agency BND — who had kept it to themselves.
With space for 700 students, more than 110 of whom can live on-site, the school offers lessons in covert observation, law, interrogation and IT. Among the practical skills students will learn are how to fend off cyberattacks, foil terrorists and shake off hostile agents on their tail.
People walk past the center for advanced education (ZNAF) at the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. Germany's intelligence agencies are inaugurating a joint spy school in the heart of Berlin, a city that was dubbed the 'capital of spies' during the Cold War and remains a hotspot of espionage.(AP PhotoMichael Sohn)
Students include recruits fresh out of high school, as well as those who have already completed first degrees and want to pursue a two-year Masters in Intelligence and Security.
Known by its German acronym, ZNAF, the facility includes laboratories, workshops and video studies — all strictly off limits to the press.
The spy school is located at the new 1 billion-euro ($1.1 billion) headquarters of the BND, which opened earlier this year and houses 4,000 staff. The agency was previously based in a sprawling Nazi-era complex in Pullach, near Munich, which remains the site of Germany's electronic eavesdropping operation.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed satisfaction on Monday after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor.
Candidates from his pro-European Union centrist Civic Coalition, or running with the party's backing, won in a series of cities in the second round of local elections held on Sunday, among them Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw and Rzeszow.
“It is very difficult to clearly say who won and who lost,” Tusk said Monday. “But if we compare these results, especially in the most attractive places, on these attractive battlefields ... then I actually have reasons for satisfaction.”
“Law and Justice has simply disappeared in many places,” Tusk added at a news conference, referring to the main opposition party.
The results put Civic Coalition in a favorable position as the country looks next to elections to the European Parliament on June 9.
Mayors were chosen in a total of 748 cities and towns where no single candidate won at least 50% of the vote during the first round on April 7.
Candidates for Tusk’s party also recaptured cities where they had not held power for many years, including Zielona Gora, Legnica and Torun.
The local and regional elections were viewed as a test for Tusk's pro-European Union government four months after it took power at the national level. Sunday's second round strengthened the Tusk government's leverage in the cities, which should facilitate cooperation on development projects and allotment of EU funds.
Tusk's allies also won in some places in the first round two weeks ago, including in Warsaw, where incumbent Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski was an easy victor.
In the first round, the right-wing Law and Justice, prevailed on the level of regional assemblies in the country's 16 provinces, where it took 34.3% of the votes, while Tusk's Civic Coalition got 30.6%. Law and Justice governed on the national level from 2015-23.
Tusk’s socially liberal Civic Coalition traditionally has strong support in cities, while Law and Justice has a more solid base in conservative rural areas, particularly in eastern Poland.
Civic Coalition is the largest group in a three-party coalition that governs the EU nation of 38 million people. The coalition is pro-European Union but otherwise spans a wide ideological spectrum with left-wing politicians in the Left party as well as conservatives in the Third Way.
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Campaign posters promote candidates as Poles vote in local and regional elections in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacts during his and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with students in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk listens to the media in Berlin, Germany, Friday, March 15, 2024. Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
